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1The Portal No.56 New Year 2016

CONTENTS Editorial .......................................................................................................2Chairman’s Notes .......................................................................................3Birdswood Update.......................................................................................4Birdswood Special Events 2016 .................................................................6Mother’s Day...............................................................................................8Horse Days .................................................................................................9News From The North...............................................................................10Langley Bridge Lock Re-opening 1973.....................................................13Annual General Meeting ...........................................................................14Report of the Trustees ..............................................................................19Santa Specials ..........................................................................................20Presentation of a Strimmer .......................................................................22Reed Pulling..............................................................................................23Inland Waterways Association Raffle Results ...........................................24Members’ Social Meetings........................................................................25Volunteer Hours ........................................................................................26Poetry Competition ...................................................................................27Potter’s Pages ..........................................................................................28Leawood Pump Outlet ..............................................................................31Letter to the Editor ....................................................................................32Work Party Dates......................................................................................32Membership Matters .................................................................................33

The aims and objectives of the Friends of the Cromford CanalTHE RESTORATION, RECONSTRUCTION, PRESERVATION AND MAINTENANCEOF THE CROMFORD CANAL, ITS ASSOCIATED BUILDINGS, TOWING PATH,STRUCTURES AND CRAFT AND THE CONSERVATION OF ITS NATURAL

CHARACTER AS ANAVIGABLE INLAND WATERWAY SYSTEM

FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC

FRONT COVER: All Our Yesterdays. The editor is the young man in the redshirt and bowler hat bringing a boatload of musicians through Langley BridgeLock at the re-opening ceremony in 1973. This was the first part of therestoration of the Cromford Canal. See page 13.

BACK COVER: Chelsea the boat horse being pressed into service to givewelcome assistance to the work party volunteers pulling a large quantity ofweeds from the canal near Lawn Bridge in readiness for the forthcomingseason with Birdswood. See also page 23.

Photo: Michael Golds Collection

Photo: Editor

2 The Portal No.56 New Year 2016

Welcome to The Portal No.56

Here we are at the start of another year and we are all looking forward to lighternights and better weather. When the last Portal went to press, Birdswood was on the bankat Cromford waiting for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyor. This all went to

plan, the surveyor was happy, thehull was cleaned off and blackedby FCC volunteers and we alsofitted new hoses to the hydraulicdrive system. The crane returnedon November 23rd and carefullylifted the boat back into the water.See picture.

This was closely followedby the Santa trips, which were abig success. See Nic Barfield’sreport on pages 20 - 21.

Since then, Vix is gettinginto gear and the planning for the

new season with Birdswood is well in hand. See pages 4 - 5. In particular, Dave Ratner hasdesigned and built a new set of passenger seats, which are currently being fitted and area big improvement on the original ones. See page 5. Thanks again Dave.

The main difficulty with the Birdswood operation is the state of the canal. Thedredging operation carried out at great expense in 2013 was very disappointing. Manyparts are still too shallow and this is being made worse by silt being washed into the waterand by the prolific weed growth, further restricting the channel. We are hoping to get somespot dredging done shortly and the weeds are being tackled manually by volunteers.Chelsea the boat horse has also been helping with this. See page 23.

Some members have expressed concern that the FCC is now only concernedwith Birdswood and the real purpose of restoring the canal is being overlooked.

Please be assured that this is not the case. The profits from Birdswood need tobe spent on canal restoration as a condition of the original grant. The FCC RestorationCommittee (formally the Engineering Team) is to concentrate in future on the first part ofthe canal from Langley Mill up to Ironville and eventually to Pinxton and the eastern portalof Butterley Tunnel. See more details on this in the Chairman’s Notes opposite.Please remember the Annual General Meeting on April 18th. See page 14.

EDITORIAL

from Mike Harrison

The press date for the Spring 2016 issue will be May 2nd

Mike Kelley


I am pleased to report that the Charity Commissionhas approved our application to become a CharitableIncorporated Organisation and since January 1st we haveoperated under the new system. (Reasons for becoming a CIO in Portal Number 50 page 4)As far as the public is concerned we will be changing from Charity Number 1100700 to the newCharity Number of 1164608 but we stay with the name of the Friends of the Cromford Canal.With the change of Charity Commission accreditation we have taken the opportunity to changeour bank to the Charity Aid Foundation which pays better interest then the HSBC. Thereshould be little change as far as members are concerned, as we are assured that themembership Standing Orders will transfer without any problems. We shall be monitoring thechange but if any of you do get problems please contact Yvonne Shattower or Bob Bullock.

The Shires Development plan to opencast a shallow coal seam at Langley Mill andthen restore the first part of the canal with a small marina has come to an end as the longfought for Planning Application has expired. The Erewash Canal Preservation & DevelopmentAssociation working party, under Mick Golds, had rebuilt the section of the canal beyondLangley Mill Boatyard; but has been waiting for three years for the open-casting to take placeso that they could continue. Now that Planning Application has expired we need to progressa new application before work can continued; this is being actioned by our Engineering Team.

Pressure of work on our Engineering Team and members of the committee being tiedup with Birdswood, the overall restoration plan had become neglected somewhat pending thework at Langley Mill. However, we have revised the group into the Restoration Committeeand for the following reasons will concentrate on the section from Langley Mill to Ironvillethrough to Pinxton and to the East Portal of Butterley Tunnel. They are :-

i. It would give access from the national waterways network to the Cromford Canal.ii. It would provide environmental improvements to deprived urban areas of Derbyshire.iii. It would bring potential for economic development along its course.iv. It would potentially provide better drainage and reduce the flood risk for the Ironville

and Pinxton areas.v. The cost of restoration could be in excess of £25million necessitating external funding.

To get towards that we are collating all the information we have accumulated overthe years then getting professional advice on how we should go to continue the restorationabove Langley Mill now that the opencast coal project has fallen by the wayside; and takingaccount of changes in other parts of possible routes. All this will form part of a proposed FCCplan for the next 5 years.

After organising the Sales for FCC over the past 12 years Val Roberts and MikeHarrison have decided to retire and on behalf of the Trustees and members I thank them fortheir efforts over the years. Matt Rogers had to step down as Chairman and has now had tofinish with the Engineering Group due to pressure of work. My thanks to Matt for his pastefforts but I hope his professional advice may still be available. We have a thriving committeebut suffering from Anno Domini. We still need volunteers to run sales and assist withBirdswood, canal maintenance and the Restoration Committee; I hope some of you will comeforward to help.

CHAIRMAN’S NOTESby John Baylis BEM


Since the final Santa Special in December I have managed to see family overthe Christmas period. I come from Bedfordshire and the majority of relatives still residethere, as do my husbands. We made the choice to live in the Peak District for the childrenand a slower pace of life. There are no regrets and we make regular trips to see everyoneand they visit us too. My mum (pictured below) is a regular on Birdswood and always

contributes heavily to the tombola collectionsand raffle ticket sales. I have to say a hugethankyou to her because she continues tosupport Chris and I from so far away. She'seven been known to drive the 100 miles just sowe can both volunteer at the canal. The horseweekends are always tricky to balance as thechildren are still young and I have Birdswoodand Chris is a volunteer at Leawood Pump.

Kit Stones you are the most amazingmother. I Love You Toads.

Well Birdswood may not be carryingpassengers but that doesn't mean that I'mhaving a break! The events for the coming yearare being finalised and you can see these on

pages 6 - 7. We have been working on recruiting new volunteers for the shop and crewmembers. There have been work parties that concentrate on clearing the channel forBirdswood to be able to pass through another season (see page 23), general boatmaintenance and even an upgrade to seating. This work has been done by a dedicatedteam member David Ratner. I can't express my gratitude to him enough for giving so muchpersonal time to this project. The seats are an excellent design and perfect for the needsof the customers. Can I also add thanks to his ever understanding wife Valerie whotolerates his hours in the workshop to create the frames. See also Mike Kelley’s report onthe new seats on the next page.

My time has been mainly taken up with a new website for Birdswood. The last 4weeks have been spent gathering articles, stories, pictures, events and timetables to fill thepages of the site. We were fortunate enough to have a local company, Trailblazer360,approach us and offer a competitive rate to create this site for us. It's been a learning curvefor me and developing an online booking service has been the most challenging. While it'seasy to choose a single or return, adult or family, trying to programme a system to makethese calculations for us was almost defeating. We believe it's there and as you read thisthe website will be live for you all to check out.

www.birdswood.org

BIRDSWOODUPDATE

by Vix Wilding


On top of all this we now have the ability to take card payments at the canal andonline. This ensures bookings are paid upfront and the pleasure of the boat trip is nottainted by having to take money and issue tickets. This new contact point and bookingsystem will be used to create an email contact list so we can send up to date informationabout events and breaking news. If you would like to hear first about these things pleasesubscribe by clicking the subscription link in the right hand column of the main pages.

I have a couple more weeks before the season officially starts on Saturday 19thMarch with Mothers Day and a couple of charters before that. The 10th March is the officialopening of The Gateway over at the Arkwright Society. This is an Information Centre for thewhole of The World Heritage Site and provides visitors with everything that is happeningand what's open up and down the Derwent Valley. There is an interactive map, media showand loads of information. Please find time to support this new development as we all havea vested interest in its success.

Hope to see you all soon and please make yourself known to me. I'd love to putfaces to names. Vix Wilding.

NEW SEATS FOR BIRDSWOODby Mike Kelley

When we purchased Birdswood, it is fair to say the seats had seen better days.They were made of discarded wood, were heavy and took up a lot of space. Also theyfrequently became dislodged from their 'loose' fixings every time passengers left theboat. Similarly the tables left a lot to be desired. The swinging leg, which supportedeach table, would become easily knocked out of place. Not really the best thing for us.We knew both seating and tables would have to be renewed; trouble was we werelooking at figures of around £6,000 for a company to make and fit a complete new set!

Then along came an FCC stalwart David Ratner, with his own original designfor both seats and tables. This design is rigid and takes up less space. He has his ownworkshop at home so he offered to make up a complete set of seats and tables for us.Bit by bit, he has been constructing these in his workshop over this winter and theninstalling them withinthe boat. He haspromised to have themfinished before the startof the new season; andall he charged us for isthe cost of thematerials, a fraction ofthe price above. Thisdesign is quite cleverand I can recommend itfor similar trip boats toconsider. I am sure youwill join with me inthanking David for thiswork and for hisdedication to the FCC.

The first of the new seats in place.David’s design of the steel frameslooks smart and gives more floorspace for both passengers and crew.

Mike Kelley


BIRDSWOOD SPECIAL EVENTS 2016

Organised by Vix WildingMother’s Day March 6thMothers travel free. Refreshments included. £5 each person over 1yr. See poster on page 8.

Easter March 27th & 28thHorse Drawn Trips. Departing 11am & 2pm. Come along and help decorate our Super-sized Easter Eggs.

Georgian Weekend May 28th & 29th.Arraslea Shires attending with Horse and Wagonette for rides along the meadows. Maximum 4 passengers at a time £5 per person. 11am - 4pm.

Discovery Walks June 11th & 12th. Inside the gothic building with sales stand, historical displays, model boat demonstrationsand guided walks. Sponsored Toddle for younger members.

Father’s Day June 19th. Fathers travel free. Refreshments included. £5 each person over 1 yr.


Scarecrow Weekend August 6h & 7th.Scarecrow competition and displays inside gothic warehouse and on the Wharf.

Forest Schools for all ages Thursdays in August. 11am -1pm on theWharf. Free activities. Bring a picnic. Vouchers for boat rides available on the day.

Pirate Day August 27th.All aboard the Black Pearl. Fancy dress competition, treasure hunt and family games. Cast Away at 11am and 2pm. £5 each person over 1 yr.

Halloween October 28th Departure at 2pm, Creepy cakes and devilishdrinking on board.Prizes for best costumes and family games. £5 each person over 1 yr.

Discovery Days October 29th&30thHorse Drawn Trips departing at 11am & 2pm. Wild Over Waterways family activities,Model Boat Displays, Traction Engines, Tombolasand much more.

Santa Specials Running each weekend in December.Adults only Carol Service, all bookings only. More details to follow.


NEWS FROM THE NORTHCromford Canal - Cromford to Ambergate

Update - January 2016from Rick Jillings - Assistant Area Manager

Derbyshire County Council Countryside ServicePhotos by Hugh Potter

Volunteer work partiesDespite the winter weather regular practical work parties by the Friends are taking

place, often fortnightly on Tuesdays, sometimes at weekends. If you feel you could assistand help improve the canal please contact the Countryside Service or John Barker theFCC work party organiser. Volunteers have helped to keep the navigation channel clear,cleared silt traps and vegetation. This volunteer input is much needed and appreciated. Whatstandwell canal spillway, January to March 2016

Work is underway to construct a new weir north of Whatstandwell close to theground paddle at Simms bridge; it will feed into an existing stream course. An overspillweir is being constructed that is 4m wide. This will enable flood waters to flow away,reducing the potential of the canal overtopping or the canal breaching its banks in stormand flood conditions.The top section of theCromford canal was builtwith very few overflows,to help serve the locks tothe south east. Practicalexperience backed upby a hydrology reporthas shown that this weiris needed. For a fewweeks there will be atemporary bridge andshort diversion in placeinto the woodland on theeast of the canal. Thiswill enable a culvert tobe constructed under thecanal towpath. The workshould be completedbefore spring. The waterlevels will need to belowered between theoverbridge and the nipthat houses the canalstop planks. While levelsare down work is alsoplanned to extend theclay bund on the farcanal bank to reduce thepossibility of canal leaks.

Work in progress on the spillway from theoverflow weir near Simms Bridge.


Towpath improvementsAfter schemes to resurface sections of towpath each year for the last 5 years,

the project is finally finished.The full 5.5 mile length of towpath from Cromford to Ambergateis now in good condition and this should make the canal more appealing to a wide rangeof visitors. The section of towpath from Lawn Bridge (opposite Cromford Meadows RugbyClub) to the High Peak Junction swing bridge was resurfaced in time for Christmas.

Top: The surfaced towpath seen fromWhatstandwell Bridge. The car parkhere is being used by the contactorson the overspill weir job.Bottom: Walkers enjoying the excellenttowpath at Chase Bridge.


Tree workOver the winter we have been felling trees that were growing in and around the

retaining walls that support the canal and on canal embankments. With the canal being amanmade structure, tree roots can dislodge and damage the canal walls and in somecases the tree root plate can get blown over. The main areas are between High PeakJunction and Whatstandwell. Network Rail is planning to de vegetate the canal retainingwall that is in its ownership south of Whatstandwell Station through towards Crich Chase. Countryside Service Re Structure

Derbyshire County Council Countryside Service now has a new managementstructure. Sites with a high visitor focus will be managed by a Destination Site team, all othersites will be managed by a wider sites team. I will continue to be responsible for themanagement of Cromford Canal from Cromford to High Peak Junction and the High PeakTrail up to and including Middleton Top. My colleague Paul Finn will take on the role I havehad in co-ordinating the management of the canal from Aqueduct cottage through toAmbergate. However day to day works will be carried out by staff still based at Middleton Top.

For further information, please feel free to contact: Assistant Area Managers Derbyshire County Council Countryside Service

Rick Jillings at Middleton Top Visitor Centre on 01629 823204 orPaul Finn at Hayfield Information Centre on 01663 746222

Tree clearance from the canalembankment and retaining wallhas opened up the fine viewacross the Derwent Valley.


ALL OUR YESTERDAYS - HOW IT ALL BEGANby the Editor

You will have read in the chairman’s notes that now the planning application forthe proposed opencast coal operations at Langley Mill has expired, the FCC RestorationCommittee intend to turn their attention to restoration of the Cromford Canal from LangleyMill up to Ironville and beyond. This has been a long-held ambition of mine ever since I firstworked on the canal at Langley Mill.

I also recently came across the picture on the front cover which was taken onMay 26th 1973. It shows the first time I ever steered my boat on the Cromford Canal. Theoccasion is the re-opening of Langley Bridge Lock at Langley Mill by the Erewash CanalPreservation & Development Association of which I have been a member for over 45 years.

The opening ceremony was an event which none of us who were involved willever forget. My part in the proceedings was to transport the Long Lea Valley Brass Bandon my boat along the canal from Bailey Grove and into Langley Bridge Lock while theyplayed suitably rousing music, and then round into the Great Northern Basin.

When some 20 members of the band came on board with their instruments, Ibegan to get a little apprehensive. As the picture shows, most of the band were either inthe open front deck of the boat or on the front end of the roof (apart from the bass drummerwho was inside and almost deafened my mother). This meant that the boat was not onlyrather top heavy, but also the weight was too far forward, meaning that the propellor waspartly out of the water. So the boat was unstable and reverse gear was almost ineffective.I remember saying to the band “For goodness sake sit still!”

However, the whole thing was an amazing success. I couldn’t believe how manypeople there were on the lockside as we came under the bridge with the band playing forall they were worth. I came in very slowly, hitting the sill with only a moderate impact, as Ihad no chance of stopping. But the band hardly missed a note and surprisingly, none of thespectators on the lockside fell in. We were all young and foolish in those days.

The picture below, taken on the same occasion, is looking up the very short lengthof Cromford Canal which was then navigable above the lock. Note the dodgems in thebackground on the still-infilled canal bed. This event led on not only to the saving of theErewash Canal, but turned attention on to the Cromford Canal and almost 30 years laterto the formation of the FCC. And the rest, as they say, is history. Happy days! Michael Golds Collection


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGNotice is hereby given that the

Fourteenth Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Cromford Canal will be held on

Monday April 18th 2016 at the Church Hall, Ironville, commencing at 7.30pm.

AGENDA1. Apologies for absence2. Minutes of the Thirteenth Annual General Meeting on Monday April 20th 2015.3. Matters arising.4. Report of the Chairman.5. Report of the Treasurer and presentation of the accounts for 2015.6. Adoption of the accounts.7. Election of Trustees. See Note 1 below.8. Change to the Constitution9. Reports by Officers. See Note 2 below10. Any other business.

Minutes of the Thirteenth AGM are reproduced on pages 15 - 18.Please bring this Portal to the meeting as further copies will not be available.

The accounts for the year ending December 31st 2015 will be available at the meeting.Note 1. The Friends of the Cromford Canal is managed by up to 12 Trustees assisted bya number of other members with about 12 meetings a year. The Trustees are responsibleto the Charity Commission for the organisation of the Friends and reports are sent to theCommission each year. The Trustees are elected for a three year term of office; this yearJohn Barker and Judy Berry retire by rotation and are willing to stand for a further term.Mike Kelley was co-opted as a Trustee during the year and now seeks election for a fullterm. Chris Jacklin has decided to resign for personal reasons and there is one trusteevacancy. Nominations for these persons and any further nominations for election asTrustees must be submitted in writing before March 21st to: John Baylis, 215 Clipstone Avenue West, Forest Town, Mansfield, Notts. NG19 0HJNomination forms are available from the Executive Secretary and must be signed by theproposer, the seconder and the nominee who must all be FCC members. The full list ofnominees with a short CV will be on the Website towards the end of March; a paper copycan be requested from the Executive Secretary. Note 2. Whether or not we need to use this item depends on a reply from the CharityCommission, but it is included so that if necessary it can be approved at this AGM. In Clause 13 (5) sentence 2: Appointment of an additional Trustee by the Trustees “Aperson so appointed by the charity trustees shall retire at the conclusion of the next annualgeneral meeting after the date of his or her appointment, and shall not be counted for thepurpose of determining which of the charity trustees is to retire by rotation at that meeting.”Shall be deleted and replaced with “A person so appointed by the charity trustees shallretire at the start of the next annual general meeting after the date of his or herappointment. John Baylis BEM, Executive SecretaryThe Annual General meeting will be followed by a presentation by GeorgeRogers on engineering aspects of restoration on the Cromford Canal.


Minutes of the Thirteenth Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Cromford Canal (FCC) held at 7.30pm on Monday, April 20th 2015,

at the Church Hall, Ironville.Present

Committee: John Baylis (Acting Chairman), John Barker, Judy Berry, Bob Bullock,Chris Jacklin, Pat Morriss, Yvonne Shattower, (Trustees), John Boucher (HonoraryConsulting Engineer), Mike Harrison, Mike Kelley, Dave Ratner, George Rogers, HughPotter, Val Roberts and Howard Smith.

There were 35 other Members and 0 visitors.

1. Apologies for absenceMr and Mrs Harworth, Martin Longbottom, The Rev Steve Parish, Eric and Beryl

Singleton, Sheila Smith and Vix Wilding.

2. Minutes of the previous AGMThe minutes of the Twelfth Annual General Meeting held on April 28th 2014 had

been circulated. Their adoption was proposed by John Barker, seconded by Jan Colomboand carried unanimously.

3. Matters arisingThere were no matters arising.

4. Report of the ChairmanJohn Baylis thanked Matthew Rogers who had to retire as chairman soon after the

last AGM due to pressure of work. John also thanked Mike Kelley who had retired as aTrustee after the last AGM.

The main work of the FCC during 2014 had centred on the operation of Birdswoodat Cromford Wharf. The operation was managed by Mike Kelley for most of the year andthen, in November, the FCC began employing Vix Wilding as Birdswood OperationsManager; this employment being part of the Defra grant agreement for the purchase ofBirdswood. The first year of operation had been very successful and John thanked all theMasters and crew for their efforts. John hoped the FCC had also improved the safety andmaintenance of the boat for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.

The agricultural work on the canal had been largely organised by John Barker.This has included the adoption of the Canal & River Trust’s Ironville Locks, work forDerbyshire County Council on the Cromford Section and the adoption of the Hartshaysection. In addition there had been a Waterway Recovery Group camp in the summer andJohn thanked Matthew and George Rogers for the organisation of this work. Then inNovember there was a weekend with WRG North West at Cromford.

In addition to the work areas, the Engineering Committee had been involved withthe Langley Mill Extension, a new Lawn Bridge at Ironville, the Stevenson’s Dyeworks sitedevelopment and methods of getting Birdswood out of the water for a hull inspection by theMCA. Towards the end of the year the FCC was prompted by the need to find a solutionfor Smotherfly where UK Coal or Harworth Estates do not appear to be interested in finalrestoration. There had been complaints from Pinxton residents and Rambling


organisations; but the FCC does not want to lose the £35,000 it has already spent onplanning. DCC have said there is no bond for final restoration so the EngineeringCommittee have been getting estimates from other contractors who might be able to do thework. As a charity it should be possible for the FCC to obtain a grant from the HeritageLottery Fund or similar to complete the restoration. This would not be available to UK Coalor the DCC.

At the end of his report John Baylis thanked John Barker as Vice Chair, BobBullock as Treasurer, Judy Berry as Minutes Secretary, Yvonne Shattower as MembershipSecretary and the other Trustees for their support. In addition he thanked Beryl and EricSingleton, Val Roberts and Mike Harrison for their Sales Team work. With Beryl and EricSingleton stepping down John thanked them for their work over many years as Trustee,Boat Master, crew and sales personnel; they will be sorely missed. Mike Harrison wasthanked for editing the Portal, John Boucher, the FCC’s Consulting Engineer, Hugh Potterthe FCC’s Archivist, Dave Ratner the Social Meeting organiser and George Rogers,Webmaster as well as all other committee members.

John Baylis completed his report by thanking all the members for their supportand others who will help to further the aims of the Friends of the Cromford Canal.

5. Treasurer’s ReportBob Bullock reported that the end of year balance was £51,909.12 which included

a full year of operating Birdswood. The total income for Birdswood was £29,653.04 with atotal expenditure of £10,941.03 but depreciation of the boat needed, and will always need,to be taken into account. With the hull depreciating at a slower rate than the fixtures andfittings, its depreciation rate was set at 5% backdated to when the FCC first tookpossession of the boat. Replacement costs caused by depreciation of the boat’s batteries,windows and seating were set at 25%, again backdated to when the FCC first tookpossession. The total depreciation costs were £7,184.72 resulting in a clear profit forBirdswood of £11,527.29. Along with other canal and waterway groups the FCC hasalready agreed to provide a sum of £2,500 from these profits to support the employmentof Susan White, DCC Waterways Officer.

Bob reported that the FCC was now working with the accountancy groupCommunity Accounting Plus. This is a charity whose only role is to support other charitiesand has been instrumental in setting up the contract and pay roll for Vix Wilding and helpingthe FCC develop new accountancy systems.

It had been hoped to move the FCC’s bank account to the Charity Aid Foundationbut this requires we pay in money through a HSBC bank. Unfortunately the HSBC bank inMatlock is to close at the end of May 2015 so the FCC needs to look for another bankwhich operates on-line but also requires two authorisations. Bob expects the FCC to havetwo accounts; one for Birdswood and one for the general FCC funds.

In response to questions from the floor, Bob explained that all funds were cashbased rather than in savings bonds, the apparent increase in postage costs was due to abulk purchase of stamps ahead of a rise in their cost and that the deposits listed in theBirdswood accounts were those made at the time charters were pre booked. John Baylisexplained that the apparent drop in the hire of the hall for social meetings was due to allmeetings in 2014 having been held at Ironville Church Hall when, in 2013, one meeting hadbeen held at the more expensive Swanwick venue. A member asked if the Portal shouldbe sent to members electronically rather than as a magazine. Yvonne Shattower respondedthat not all members had email and a survey carried out by George Rogers had resultedin just 20 members taking up the offer to receive the Portal solely by electronic means.


Bob thanked all volunteers who continue to spend many hours preparing andgetting Birdswood onto the water and to the volunteers who crew her.

He also thanked Community Accounting Plus for auditing the accounts.6. Adoption of the AccountsThe adoption of the accounts was proposed by Jack Brown, seconded by Peter Brookesand carried unanimously.

7. Election of TrusteesTwo Trustees had retired by rotation and sought re-election, one Trustee had

been co-opted during the year and sought election and one Trustee had retired for personalreasons. There were two further nominations resulting in five nominees for five vacancies.Mr Hogarth proposed the Trustees were voted for en bloc, this was seconded by JohnBoucher and carried unanimously. The elected Trustees were:

John Baylis, nominated by Judy Berry and seconded by Howard Smith.Bob Bullock, nominated by Eric Singleton and seconded by Mike Harrison.Ian Hooker, nominated by John Baylis and seconded by Howard Smith.Jack Brown nominated by John Barker and seconded by John Baylis.Dave Martin, nominated by John Barker and seconded by Bob Bullock.

8. Charitable Incorporated OrganisationJohn Baylis advised members this is progressing slowly. The draft constitution

has been completed but the new banking arrangements need to be formalised for theCharity Commission to accept the application. As there had been no formal approval by themembership to progress the Charitable Incorporated Organisation status, John Baylisrequested approval from the floor. Approval was formally proposed by Bob Bullock,seconded by Ian Hooker and carried unanimously.

9. Reports by Officersa) Membership ReportYvonne Shattower reported another increase in the membership from 924 in 2013

to 967 in 2014. This included 162 life members (150 in 2013), 2 corporate businessesand 8 corporate charities including the Erewash Canal Preservation & DevelopmentAssociation. Sadly the FCC lost 3 life members. Seven lapsed members returned.

There remains one problem. In excess of 80 members have still to increase theirstanding orders to the new rate.

Yvonne thanked all those members who deliver the Portal on behalf of the FCCand Joan Greaves who so ably provides the tea and coffee during the FCC meetings.

b) Archive ReportHugh Potter reported that it been another busy year with various acquisitions as

well as answering questions which ranged from family history through to helping localartists produce accurate historic scenes and assisting in restoration schemes. He hadassisted with both the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Audio Trail which raised £1,000 for theFCC and with the DerwentWISE project regarding Leawood Aqueduct Cottage.

Hugh had also assisted with background information to the Stevenson’sdevelopment. At the last AGM Hugh had asked for transcribers for some mid - 20th centuryarchives. These are now almost completed giving a picture of what was taking place on thecanal in its final years as a working waterway and after its closure.

Hugh reported that the transcription of the permits (boats through Langley Mill)continued with the list standing at over 36,000 due entirely to June Crump’s work. These


give a fascinating insight into boat movements and the cargoes carried. Hugh thankedJune Crump for all her work.

Hugh reported the imminent publication of the first volume of the Minutes of theCromford Canal Company by Derbyshire Record Society. It is due out in May and will beavailable at a special price to FCC members. Details will be in the next Portal.

c) Webmaster ReportGeorge Rogers thanked Hugh Potter, Neil Quarmby and Chris Wilding for taking

on the maintenance of the website. George is now primarily concerned with themanagement of email systems and the hosting infrastructure.

George reported that he is in discussions with Vix Wilding and has begun workon splitting the boat pages off into a separate website. The aim is to launch it at the end ofthe year in readiness for the 2016 season. The new website will retain much of the styleand layout of the FCC website but with separate branding and website address. It will bepossible to tell the two sites belong to the same organisation but they will be distinct fromeach other. Developing the new site will provide opportunities for George to test somechanges to the way the website responds to being viewed on different sized screens onphones or tablets. These changes could be rolled out to the FCC website in due course.In addition George is looking more closely at online bookings/sales. He would welcome anysuggestions and further offers of support.

d) Sales reportMike Harrison thanked Eric and Beryl Singleton for their work in the sales team

and for the excellent job they had done over many years. Eric and Beryl’s decision to resignmeans a huge loss to the FCC who will now be requiring a new Sales Officer and team.

e) Portal ReportMike Harrison reported he was just completing Portal Number 53 with the first

issue he produced being number 24. He added a request for anyone to submit material asit was always good to have articles from different people and so long as people keptsending him new material he was happy to continue in his role. Mike Kelley congratulatedMike Harrison on Portal being the best magazine of its kind.

f) Birdswood ReportMike Kelley reported a very successful first year on Birdswood with over 5,500

passengers. Many, many hours had been spent satisfying the exacting standards requiredby both Defra and the MCA. Mike gave a personal thanks to Vix Wilding for taking over hisrole seamlessly.

g) Work Party ReportJohn Barker reported that the work parties had undertaken over 600 hours work

at Ironville, the route from Cromford to High Peak Junction and at Lower Hartshay. Thiscovered anything from reed pulling, to clearing footpaths and silt trap clearance. There hadalso been a request for work at another section of the canal.

In response to a question from the floor, John Baylis advised that the work to beundertaken at Lock 4 by the Waterway Recovery Group summer camp would be discussedwith C&RT and a member of the Reservoir Inspectorate on 20th May 2015.

Jack Brown MBE thanked Peter Clarke and the working party at Ironville for allthe work undertaken there which has made the whole area better for the village of Ironville.

10. Any Other BusinessThere were no other matters of business.

The meeting closed at 20.40 hours


REPORT BYTHE TRUSTEES

of the FRIENDS OF THE

CROMFORD CANALFOR 2015

During the year we have beenprogressing the new Constitution for theFriends of the Cromford Canal based on theCharity Commission draft for an AssociationCharitable Incorporated Organisation. Thiswas completed at the end of November whenthe Commission gave us the new CIO Number1164608. The old Charity 1100700 was used up to December 31st. and the CIO started onJanuary 1st. 2016. The Trustees have also taken the opportunity to change the accountsto the Charity Aid Foundation which gives a better rate of interest. When the accounts for2015 have been finalised Charity 1100700 will be closed.

The passenger trip boat Birdswood has had another successful year with a smallincrease in passengers and takings from 2014; however, the employment of a part timemanager will be an additional cost. The employment of local people was a requirement ofthe Defra grant from the Rural Development Programme for England. In addition to theBoat Operations Manager we have employed a local towing horse and part time salesperson. Following changes to the Arkwright Society café at Cromford Wharf the FCC hasbeen able to lease part of the Gothic Warehouse as a boat office and sales outlet. Severalnew Boatmasters have been approved by the M&CA and crew members are being trained.

In November the boat was craned out at Cromford for its biennial inspection bythe Maritime & Coastguard Agency following which new hydraulic pipes were fitted andthe hull blacked. Towards the end of the year new roll-up plastic windows have been fittedand over the New Year break new seats are being fitted.

During the year the final Birdswood profit of about £11,500 accrued in 2014 hasbeen spent on volunteer work on the section of the Cromford Canal used by Birdswood andthe rest of the canal; this is a requirement of our Derbyshire County Council licence. Thisyear work has been carried out on Brown’s Swing Bridge at High Peak Junction, aWaterway Recovery Group Canal Camp at Ironville, support of the DCC Waterways Officerand some dredging is planned at High Peak Junction. .

The FCC working parties have continued agricultural and tree maintenance workon the section of the Cromford Canal in and below Ironville and this has been with the co-operation and help from the owners, the Canal & River Trust and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.In addition the Friends have been meeting with Bullbridge And Sawmills Amenity group todiscuss possible plans for the old Stevenson’s site. The FCC has also instituted a StrategicRestoration committee to progress restoration northwards from Langley Mill to Pinxton andButterley Tunnel.

John Baylis, BEM Trustee, February 2016


Birdswood’s 2015 season came to a memorable end with no fewer than 14 SantaSpecial cruises running on seven dates from early December to just two days beforeChristmas. The success of the Man in Red’s onboard residency in 2014, when almost 300people travelled with us spread over nine Santa Specials, had given us a target to beat…And beat it we did, with over 500 passengers of all ages enjoying festive fayre, spiritedseasonal singing and a beautifully decorated Birdswood.

SANTA SPECIALS 2015Report and pictures by Nic Barfield


Santa gave away over 220 copies of Muddy Waters narrowboat story books tohappy youngsters, along with a similar number of bags of chocolate coins. We also servedup hundreds of portions of Christmas cake, shortbread, stollen and other seasonalsweetmeats, not to mention gallons of hot drinks, squash and spiced apple punch.

Demand for the Santa Specials was boosted by extra advertising this year, andwe were so busy that Santa had to work shifts! (Since it’s unlikely that any under-10s arereading this, we’ll own up to the fact that it wasn’t always the same red-cheeked, twinkly-eyed gent behind the bushy white beard. Thank you, Santas - one and all…) And his elvesand Little Helpers were a well-drilled hospitality team by the time we disembarked the finalboatload of sated customers on the afternoon of 23rd December. An added bonus forpassengers on the final day was a special appearance by Lance and Corinne from ArrasleaShires with boat-horse Chelsea in reindeer disguise…

Some careful tweaking of this year’s event marketing saw ‘Festive Foursome’tickets offered at an all-in price of just £30. These proved very popular, and several familiesremarked what good value our event was compared with other Santa trips that they hadbeen on.

With good weather on all but a couple of days, full boats on several trips, andmuch happiness and goodwill spread far and wide, the 2015 Santa Specials were a majorsuccess. They also gave the year’s passenger loadings and revenues a major boost, soall the extra effort was definitely worth it. Our thanks go out to all the volunteers whoassisted, and to all who travelled with us. See you all again later this year, when we’ll betrying hard to beat 2015’s excellent figures!


ROTARY CLUB AGAIN GIVES SUPPORT TO THE FCC

by the EditorOne of the ways in which Mike Kelley has greatly helped us over the years is

giving illustrated talks about the FCC to a large number of different groups andorganisations throughout the local area. This is a vital part of informing people of the FCCaims and ambitions and encouraging support.

One group to which Mike gave two talks was Belper and Duffield Rotary Club,who as a result gave a generous donation of £250 to the FCC. This was used towards thepurchase of a Stihl FS70 strimmer which will be put to good use in the future for canal sidevegetation clearance. This machine was presented to the FCC recently at Cromford Wharf.

The picture below shows (L-R) John Barker (FCC Vice Chairman and Work PartyOrganiser), Mrs Eileen Murphy (President of Belper and Duffield Rotary Club) presentingthe strimmer to John Dyson, (FCC work party regular and, together with Wayne Scarle, acertificated user of the machine having successfully completed a brush cutter trainingcourse run by the Canal and River Trust) and Mike Kelley, whose talks made this possible.

See page 32 for forthcoming work party dates and locations.


KEEPING THECHANNEL CLEAR

by the EditorThe length of the

Cromford Canal from CromfordWharf to Leawood Pump isamong the most scenic in thecountry, passing as it doesthrough the charming DerwentValley. However the downside tothis is that, because it has asupply of clean water, free fromindustrial pollution, the weedgrowth in the canal can beconsiderable in the summer.

This means that theweed encroaches on thenavigable channel and makes thepassage of Birdswood moredifficult. Recent work parties havetherefore been removing some ofthe reeds in readiness for thisyear’s trips, as shown in thesepictures by Hugh Potter.

Above: The channel width is looking betterafter much hard work by the volunteers.Below: Chelsea is bringing some extrahorsepower to the operation.


THE INLAND WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION RAFFLEby the Editor

Many members will remember that, following our success in 2014, the FCC againtook part in the national raffle run by the Inland Waterways Association in support of manywaterway restoration societies nationwide in 2015. This was a very successful project andraised over £14,000 in total. This figure was divided between all the organisations whosupported the scheme by selling tickets, and again the number sold by the FCC was verypleasing. In January, our chairman received a letter of thanks from the IWA together witha cheque for the FCC’s share of the proceeds which amounted to £1329. A very goodresult, and our thanks go not only to those who bought the tickets, but also to the volunteerswho stamped the FCC name on them and others who made the effort to sell them. Welldone all, and we look forward to this year’s raffle.

The tickets sold by each participating group are shown on the pie chart below. Itwill be seen that the FCC finished in a very creditable third place.

How the proceeds were dividedamong the 24 waterway restorationorganisations which took part

Friends of the

CromfordCanal


The success of this IWA Restoration Raffle depends on thegenerous donation of prizes by waterway-related businesses.Details of the companies who donated the ten prizes and thewinners in each case were as follows: 1st Prize - M C Ford - A one-week boating holiday on a six-berth narrow boat with WyvernShipping,worth up to £1,5002nd Prize - M Bowen - A three-night or four-night boating holiday on a four-berth narrowboat with Andersen Boats, worth up to £7003rd Prize - D Abbott - A weekend boating holiday on a four-berth narrow boat with CanalCruising Company, worth £5904th Prize - S Tart - A two-night boating break in March 2016, on a two-berth boat withCambrian Cruisers, worth £5595th Prize - K Elphick - A one-night boating holiday on up to a four berth boat with CalcuttBoats, worth up to £3006th Prize - D Stevenson - A one-day boat hire with ABC Leisure for up to 12 people in 20167th Prize - H Fuller - A pair of 2016 Crick Festival weekend tickets, with a choice of freecampsite or mooring pitch, from Waterways World8th Prize - D Brenni - £100 of vouchers for Midland Chandlers9th Prize - M Pattison - 12 months subscription to Canal Boat and a copy of four of their books10th Prize - P Manley - A small jug hand painted in the traditional narrowboat style, fromStone Boat Building Chandlery

FORTHCOMING MEMBERS’ SOCIAL MEETINGSThe Friends of the Cromford Canal welcome everyone to their Social Meetings,held on the Third Monday of the Month at Ironville Church Hall at 7.30pm.

The following are scheduled between now and the end of the year.There is a bar, tea & coffee and raffle available at all meetings. Admission is £2.

• March 21st - THE IDLE WOMEN - WOMEN ON THE CANAL BOATS IN THELAST WAR - Mike Constable

• April 18th - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGincluding an engineering update by George Rogers (free admission)

• May16th - AMBERGATE UNDERGROUND RESERVOIR - Anthony Healey • June 20th - TOP GEAR AT THE GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY - Bill Devit• July/August - No Meetings• September 19th - RESERVOIRS OF THE CROMFORD CANAL-David Brown• October 17th - THE PENTRICH REVOLUTION - Michael Parkin• November 16th - CANAL RESTORATION AND CRUISING - Michael Golds• December - CHRISTMAS SOCIAL - To be arranged


THE MOST VALUABLE ASSET THE FCC HASby John Guyler

As with all charities, run with the efforts of volunteers, the most valuable assets are thevolunteers themselves.

The FCC, since its formation fourteen years ago, has been supported by individualsand a number of married couples who have given their time, mainly at their own expense.So in 2015 I have been recording the volunteer numbers and the hours of support thatvolunteers gave to the FCC in canal related manual activities.

I apologise to those who have given time and a great deal of effort, such as sales,boat cleaning and many other tasks, for not including them in this summary, it just startedoff recording work-party details. But the hours, I now realise, are so valuable in provingcredibility whenever the FCC applies for project support grants, a more comprehensiverecord of all hours given needs to be activated. Even if it’s just to prove the commitmentand support is there.

• Work parties mainly on the Cromford / Leawood stretch and sometimes, at therequest of DCC rangers, work is undertaken on the stretch to Whatstandwell and on toAmbergate. (474.5 hrs)

• Ironville work parties are mainly on the Codnor Park flight of locks, to clear the canalline, both banks and the towpath of litter, general rubbish and undergrowth. One FCCmember is a volunteer Ranger for the Canal and River Trust (CRT); he undertakes regulartests of the water quality and together with the work parties has had a notable success inthe control of dog fouling. (1223 hrs)

• At Lower Hartshay volunteers have inspected and removed the cause of overtopping at one point, also on the same stretch an inspection accompanied by a CRTinspector, discovered a serious sewerage leak into the canal, which required immediateaction from Severn Trent. (35.75 hrs)

• Pinxton, there was a survey visit and one work party. (42 hrs) • The Wheatcroft Cromford office was cleared, decorated inside and out, fitted out

and commissioned. (206 hrs) • Wheatcroft Cromford office customer support. (532 hrs)• Birdswood crew working throughout the season and in some really foul weather, to

give the large number of visitors a good experience. (3500 hrs) • The Heritage Weekend volunteers, to show the FCC at its best. (339 hrs) • The Birdswood inspection in November, required preparation for the lift out, hull

cleaning, the hull inspection, hull painting, changing the hydraulic pipes to the drive, fromthe gearbox to the prop, return to water. (216 hrs)

• Replacement seats - the design, prototype fit and build the new seats so far fittedin Birdswood. (270 hrs)

• Replacement windows - 20hrs hours for fitting. (hours for design and commissionof manufacturing unknown).

• Work undertaken by the Waterways Recovery Group, July & December notincluded in this summary.

This summary as I have stated is for mainly manual hours. There is a large amount ofwork by the FCC officers, the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Engineering and everyone whoworks behind the scenes, going to meetings and activities, making the FCC the successit is. Very often this is done at their own expense, both financially and time spent. Thesehours are not yet monitored, but I am willing to bet, they are considerable.


POETRY COMPETITION by Adrian Minshull (Volunteer on Birdswood)

I have two tea towels, well, actually I have more than two but only two withpoems/anecdotal verse on them. Both are used for their given purpose i.e. wiping thedishes, after they have been through the process of being washed, yet these verses giveme a smile every time I come to reminding myself of their content.

This gave me an idea (dangerous I know). On the Friends of the Cromford Canal'ssales stand, that I may say has done us proud in raising a good deal of funds, we do selltea towels with a picture of Birdswood, our beloved trip boat ,on them, which if you aren'taware i.e. you have been on another planet and not had chance to view the Portal recently,plies the stretch of the Cromford Canal between Cromford Wharf & Leawood Pump House(Saturdays, Sundays & Wednesdays) to the delight of those who have ventured to enjoya day out in the Derbyshire Dales.

Where were we? Ah yes. No verse though. So, my idea was to have a competition among you, our

beloved Portal readers. My poetry skills I consider to be poor but I am pretty sure thatamongst our 900+ members, there are literary geniuses waiting to be found. Whether it beyou or one of your family, the art of articulating poetic prose must surely abound. So, inwanting to keep our sales stock refreshed and attractive to buy we would like you or yourfamily members or a team effort to conjure up and donate a witty or relevant poem to puton a tea towel. The top twenty poems may even make it into a small book of poems butwe will have to see what the standard is like. I can only imagine the standard will be veryhigh so there will be a book of poems for you to purchase that will put a smile on your faceeach time you come to look at it and remind yourself of their content.

The rules:• There must somewhere in the poem be a reference to Friends of the Cromford Canal

or Birdswood or both and any of the many places/bridges on the line of Cromford Canal.• The poem should be no longer than 4 verses & no more than 4 lines per verse or one

stanza of 16 lines or however you wish to divide 16 lines.• The winner will be judged by our President Brian Blessed, Mike Kelley (author) and

by Cromford Parish Councillor Carol Easton.• Prize for the winner will be two free tickets or a family ticket to ride on Birdswood on

a horse pull day and a copy of the book of poems created by you the winner and t h e 1 9runners up and an FCC t-shirt and of course a tea towel that you have helped us create(please state size of t-shirt and whether you would like two tickets or a family ticket on yourreply). The 19 runners up will receive a copy of the book of poems along with an FCCbookmark and a tea towel.

• We cannot accept any poems under copyright unless you are the owner of thecopyright and state that you are donating the poem for the Friends of the Cromford Canal'suse and any profits therefrom.

• Please do not forget to enclose your contact details: Address and/or E-mail Address(if you have one), a phone number and if you are happy to do so, your age. Thank you.

Please E-mail your entries to [email protected] or post to Poetry Competition, 28 Lynholmes Road, Matlock, DE4 3DWWe look forward to reading your entries as I'm sure they will be full of memories present

and past and ideas/visions of the future as well.


POTTER’S PAGESA look at another item from the extensive collection of historial material

concerning the Cromford Canal from our Archivist Hugh Potter.

CANAL DIVERSION AT SAWMILLSWhen the Pye Bridge Branch of the Midland Railway was proposed in 1876, its

route would have involved it crossing the canal twice in a very short distance on the level[adjacent to what is now the entrance to Lockwood’s premises - Ed.] Obviously theprospect of two opening bridges did not appeal to the MR so they proposed, andconstructed, a canal diversion, according to the plan shown below. As the railway hadowned the canal since 1852, this would have needed no negotiation.


As well as having to knock down part of a terrace of houses (the remainder of which areextant), it involved demolition of Hopton Stone Company's Sawmills (see the lower pictureopposite) from which the local area took its name.

A four-arch stone bridge (shown below) was built to accommodate the canalthrough its northern arch (far right) and various railway tracks through the others (thenecessity for 4 arches has not been adequately explained).

The layout of the tracks in 1895is shown on a sale plan on theright. Sadly, although there areseveral photographs of the canalhere, no photograph showing therailway at this location has everbeen found.

In the debate on the MidlandRailway Bill in 1907, Lionel BuryWells said:"Where the canal has beenrecently diverted for Railwaypurposes beyond Bullbridge itwas of greater width thanordinarily found and the sideswere protected with stonepitching. Here the soundingreached a depth of 5 feet 6inches proving that there was nolack of accommodation or stintingof expenditure where the canalwas deviated by the RailwayCompany."

Curiously, the original bridgewas retained and one parapetcan still be seen today.


Above: The canal arch of the four arch bridge in 1963. There was still some water inthe canal here at this time and the railway (out of sight passing through the arch atthe opposite end of the bridge) was still open.Below: The new (A) and original (B) routes of the canal shown on the 25 inch OSmap of 1900. The bridge (C) over the original canal line is still partly existing today

C

A

B


LEAWOOD PUMP OUTLETby Ian Yates

It’s generally all quiet at the pumphouse at themoment. Boiler 44 has been stripped down to its basics,removing all the cladding, top off the steam dome and safetyvalves off to allow for a dry boiler inspection and NDT testing.This is scheduled for the 8th of February so hopefully nomajor issues will be found and we can put it back togetherready for an hydraulic test. The front washout plugs requirereplacing but this has been held back until the other checksare made so any works can all be done at once. Also themudhole door studs are being replaced on Boiler 43, workrequested by the boiler inspector. As is usually the case sixcame out fine and two broke off giving us a problem to getthem out. Some left hand thread bolts are being made at Clay Mills so they can be screwedin and hopefully will unscrew the broken studs. The new studs have been made by a smallengineers in Cromford along with a new plate, so fixing should not be a problem.

In late December there was a problem with the Duchess (the boat we use totransport our coal and other items across the canal), it sank! Despite the efforts of theRangers with a 3 inch pump they could not raise it. Ken and I went down on the Saturdaymorning to see what had happened. Thinking like the Rangers the water was coming in atthe side steps, the opening was blocked and pumping resumed but the water stayed put.Ken noticed a movement in the water at the rear which made us think it was coming in viathe propeller shaft guide but it was in the wrong place. A sledge hammer was taken to therear platform, which is rotten and needed replacing, which duly revealed the source of theproblem. The Duchess has had an engine at some time and over the propeller is a weedbox to allow weed to be cleared. There was no top on this box, so the heavy rainfall andprobably someone going on the boat to the rear had pushed the top under water and filledthe boat up. No one knew this was there and is probably why the Little Grebes nested init as it was open topped. After a coffee and biscuits at the pumphouse, a side board wasput over the hole, weighted down by several sandbags and pumping recommenced. Afterabout 10 minutes the board came out of the water and the boat started to empty. The boatwas drained as far as the large pump would take it then finished off with a smallsubmersible. It has now been covered with tarpaulins until the floor and the rear platformcan be replaced. The tyre which the grebes nested on has been replaced with plastic floats.It is hoped to keep them off. It is intended to put a proper cover on the weed box to preventthis happening again. What was thought to be a small job took nearly seven hours tocomplete. Luckily the weather was kind and not cold, with one of us on the small boat andthe other on the wharf shed window sill it could have been a lot worse. It is intended to getthe boat sorted properly as soon as the weather improves ready for the new steamingseason, the first static visit being on March 6th.

LEAWOOD PUMP STEAMING DATES for 2016These are shown on the Birdswood horse days poster on page 9.What better way to visit the pumphouse than by horse drawn boat?

The engine will be in motion from noon to 5pm each day. (Discovery Weekend - 11am to 4pm)


LETTER TO THE EDITORDear Mike

Thank you so much for sending me a copy of The Portal Autumn 2015. I read withinterest the item on the proposed New Lawn Bridge at Codnor Park on P 20.

I had no idea where this location was but eventually found it, in the South Westcorner of Ordnance Survey Landranger Map no.120 Mansfield and Worksop. I also foundthe location in my British Railways pre-grouping (and pre-Beeching) Atlas. There were asyou know 2 North South rail links in this valley, the more easterly link was a Great NorthernBranch Line running to Pye Hill and Pinxton (now closed) and the more westerly link wasthe Midland Main Line running onwards to Alfreton and Chesterfield, a connection whichis still open. There used to be a connection from this line through Butterley onward toAmbergate and thence to Cromford. According to the Atlas, Codnor Park used to have twostations, one on each line. There was a link between the two lines at Brinsley Junction. Allthis you know. The routes of these lines can be traced to some extent by close examinationof the Ordnance survey map. Presumably to get there by public transport, I would have togo to Langley Mill, and make my way from there.

This location is just north of D H Lawrence’s birthplace at Eastwood, and it wasat one time a heavily industrialised location, (canal basins, collieries etc.) as readings of DH Lawrence, especially his short stories, will clearly show. So my query to you, is whathappened? Why didn’t this area become a Metropolis? (as did Leeds, Manchester,Birmingham, Sheffield etc.)Andrew P Blunden

We give a warm welcome to the following new memberswho have joined us since the last edition of The Portal

Mr I Holman, Derby Mr & Mrs Griffiths, DerbyMr A Lindsey, Derby Mr A C Ford, DerbyMr A Brown, Loughborough Mr & Mrs K White, StanleyMr & Mrs J Wilkins, Chesterfield Mrs S Ashmead, DerbyMr M Rumsby, Alfreton Mr & Mrs N Downes, IlkestonMr J Wass, Derby (Rejoined)

FORTHCOMING WORK PARTY DATESWe are urgently looking for volunteers for our work parties both at

Cromford and at Ironville. We meet on Tuesdays, alternating between the twosections. The dates are as follows. Full details are on our website.

At Cromford - March 1st, 15th and 29thAt Ironville - February 23rd, March 8th and 22nd.

For more information ring John Barker tel no. 01773 760358 or email [email protected]

There are also regular work parties at Ironville organised by Pete Clark.These are held on and around the locks every Tuesday.


Thanks to a huge amount of help from Steve Parish in submitting our claim, wehave recently received a payment of £347.56 from Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise(HMRC) in respect of a Gift Aid claim for 2011, which will help to swell our coffers a little.

For those of you not familiar with Gift Aid, Charities such as FCC can claim fromHMRC an amount equal to 25% of your membership payment or donation if you payIncome Tax. All you have to do is to sign a form to say that you pay sufficient Income Taxto cover the HMRC payment to us. It really is that simple, and we can then add your nameto our claim and receive an extra £1.75 on a single Membership or £2.50 on Membershipfor a couple. The current membership form carries a Gift Aid declaration, but this was notthe case in the early days of the FCC, and although we did follow this up some time later,many of the early Members did not sign up for this benefit, so we cannot claim on theirsubscriptions. I fully appreciate that not everyone is eligible to sign for Gift Aid, but wecurrently have less than half the members ‘signed up’, so if we can claim £374 for lessthan half of the Membership, I will leave it to you to work out how much more we would earnby getting even another quarter of the members on the list. It is possible for us to claim onpayments made from 2012 so if you think you might be eligible to claim, let me know andI will forward a form to you. Whilst on the subject of Gift Aid, I would like to remind Membersthat if they no longer pay sufficient tax to cover our claim they must let me know.

You will have read elsewhere in this magazine that, after many trials andtribulations, we are at last a CIO. Although we have had to open a new Bank Account, thisshould not make any difference to those of you who pay by standing order, however, afterother experiences with standing orders, Bob Bullock and I are just keeping our fingerscrossed…………..

We are still looking for someone to take on the role of Sales Officer, now that ValRoberts has retired. It may be that two or three people could take on the role as a team,but we will lose many opportunities to ‘spread the word’ about the Friends whilst we haveno sales stand, so if you think you could be part of the team, please do let us know.

MEMBERSHIP MATTERSA good way to help the FCC is to recruit new

members. Just to remind you, the membership rates areshown below. Also, anyone who is a UK taxpayer canuse Gift Aid to increase the value of their subscription by28 pence in the pound. Application forms are on theFCC website or contact Yvonne.

Individual: £7.00 Life: £110.00Couples: £10.00 Life: £165.00

Corporate Business: £35.00Corporate Charity: £17.00

fromYvonne Shattower

Unless specifically stated, any opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authorand do not necessarily reflect the formal policy of the Friends of the Cromford Canal. TheFCC accepts no liability for any matter printed in this newsletter nor any advertising thatmay be included. Reproduction of extracts from this newsletter welcomed provided that afull acknowledgement is given.

Download - THEPORTAL · 2016. 9. 1. · big success. See Nic Barfield’s report on pages 20 - 21. Since then, Vix is getting into gear and the planning for the new season with Birdswood is

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